Cursed Children
by BriliantLight
Summary: Albus Severus Potter, one of the most controversial names in all of the Wizarding World, is at Hogwarts, one of the most controversial schools in the Wizarding World. Did he lose his right to the Potter name when the hat said Slytherin?
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Harry Potter. If I did I wouldn't be writing Fanfics. _

"What if the barrier won't open?"

"No silly. That didn't happen until Dad's third year. Right Dad?"

Harry Potter glanced up across the breakfast table and put down the daily prophet he was reading. His eyes flicked between his two sons.

Albus, with his tidy black hair somewhat falling into his face, was looking slightly miserable and stirring his breakfast porridge, (something that Harry's wife Ginny had insisted they all eat as a 'healthy breakfast'). James' brown eyes were glowing and he had a cocky grin that seemed to be permanently plastered on his face.

He answered James and said. "Second year James. I couldn't get onto the platform in my second year." Then he addressed Albus and added, "Now Albus, no house-elf told you that something bad is going to happen at school this year. So don't…" he thought for a moment. "Well, Albus. Just don't worry about it."

Albus Potter's shoulders slumped. Staring down into his bowl and scooping up some porridge he brought the spoon up to his mouth. "In Mum's first year…" but Harry lifted a hand to stop his son's sentence.

"We already checked for dark magic remember? You'll be fine. In my first year, I became friends with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. And I'm sure you'll make just as great friends."

Albus continued to look into his porridge. "But what if everyone expects me to be just like you? I don't think…" Harry interrupted Albus again and laughed.

"Albus, if Professor McGonagall expects you to be just like me she's going to get a pleasant surprise. You're you, Al. You couldn't get into the trouble I did even if you tried."

Albus sighed, letting his spoon fall into the bowl he straightened and combed his hair out of his face. "Thanks Dad."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Albus sometimes seemed to almost resent Harry's popularity. But this gratitude was genuine, and Albus really seemed comforted. Maybe, hopefully, these next couple of years would bring them closer, even if they were apart physically.

The creaking of the stairs brought Harry's thoughts back into the present world.

Ginny Potter walked into the dining room and sat down on Albus's right. With a 'Pop' a house-elf appeared, wearing a small, flowery dress with the name "Twinkle" embroidered on the chest. Twinkle handed Ginny a bowl of porridge and coffee and disappeared with another 'Pop' at Ginny's "Thank you".

Ginny began to drink her coffee as the steaming bowl of porridge cooled down.

After a swallow, she said to Harry, "Lily is getting dressed. Said something about looking good for the occasion." Taking another sip she turned to her sons. "I finished sorting through your trunks. Al, you almost forgot your bear."

Albus's face turned the color of his mother's bright red hair.

"Mum." He groaned. "I'm not taking Mr.…" leaning forward and hiding his face in his arms he breathed deep steadying breaths to calm down.

James, pretending to not notice his brother's embarrassment laughed. "Al almost forgot Mr. Cuddles!" he said in mock shock. "How awful! Thank you, Mother, for remembering him."

"James!" Harry said sternly. "Leave your brother alone. He's growing up, I remember a certain young man who just couldn't leave Pat-"

"Dad!" James said as his face started to match his brother's.

"Well, they're certainly your sons Ginny," Harry said to his wife. "They have the Weasley blush."

#########

The rest of the morning passed in a rush. The next thing any of the Potter's knew they were hurrying through Kings Cross Station to get to platform 9 ¾. The boys were pushing rather large trolleys with owls that were hooting indignantly in cages on top.

The young girl holding her father's hand was begging to go with her brothers to school.

"It won't be long Lily, just two more years." Lily didn't seem to be consoled. "But I want to go now. Can't you write to Headmaster McGonagall…" Harry sent her a sharp glare that made her stop mid-sentence.

"I won't be in Slytherin!" Albus said loudly. Several people glanced over in their direction but paid them little more attention. "Be quiet Albus." Ginny scolded. "And James, leave your brother alone." James, with his permanent grin, said sweetly to his mother, "I only said he might be. I didn't mean he would." Ginny sighed. "What I said still applies. It'll be alright Al. Don't you worry." Albus nodded, staring at the ground. James, without another glance ran forward into the wall between platforms 9 and 10.

Before the others could join him though, Lily said, "Mum, you almost forgot!" Harry laughed. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes of course Lily." She straitened and said loudly. "Packed with Muggles of course."

Albus leaned forward into his trolley. "Why do you do that Mum? You do it every time." Ginny smiled at her son. "That's how I met your father you know. He probably wouldn't have even gotten to Hogwarts if Grandma hadn't said that. He certainly wouldn't have become friends with Uncle Ron."

Harry raised his eyebrows at his wife. "I don't know about that Ginny. I'm sure that Dumbledore would have had a plan." He turned to Albus and put a hand on his trolley. "Come on Al. Let's do this together." Albus flinched unexpectedly but quickly regained his demeanor. "All right Dad."

Harry and Albus started to walk faster towards the barrier that James had disappeared, within moments they had almost collided. Albus shut his eyes preparing for the collision but none came. Instead, they emerged on another platform. There was a large sign reading, Platform 9¾, and a bright, shining red steam engine sat at the platform, steam already billowing out of its funnel.

"Where are they?"

Harry laughed. His son could easily change what he worried about. Even after just a few seconds he was already thinking about something else.

"I'm sure they'll be here Albus. Don't worry." Ginny having just emerged from behind them said putting her hand on his shoulder.

The sounds of parents and children speaking hurriedly and with tearful goodbyes were what filled the station. Harry thought he heard his brother-in-law Percy Weasley lecturing about broomstick regulations.

"I think that's them, Al." Ginny said pointing off down the platform.

Four people were walking down the platform, one of them pushing a near-identical trolley like James' and Albus'.

"Hi Rose," Albus said to the one pushing the trolley.

Rose Weasley, already in her Hogwarts uniform, smiled at her cousin. She began to speak at a quick pace, almost matching her mother's when she was in school.

"Hello, Albus. Can you believe we're going to Hogwarts already? It feels like just yesterday I learned about it. Now I'm going. I hope to either be a Gryffindor like Dad and Mum, or a Ravenclaw like Aunt Luna. Did you know that…" She started to talk hurriedly to Albus about random Hogwarts facts. Where the Room of Requirement was located, how to get into the kitchens (something she learned from Uncle George), how the Pensieve worked, and so on. Albus, trying as he might, could only comprehend about half of what she was saying.

Ron, Rose's father, was looking at Albus and Rose and said in the middle of one of her sentences, "If you're not in Gryffindor we'll disinherit you." Albus stiffened, Hermione, Rose's mother, hit the top of Ron's arm. "Ronald, we will not. I actually wouldn't mind a Ravenclaw in the family or a Hufflepuff. It would be nice for a change." Smiling at Rose and Albus she said, "And if you both were in Slytherin we still wouldn't-" Ron laughed cutting her off. "If they were in Slytherin I would-" A duo of pointed glares from Hermione and Ginny made him swallow the end of his original sentence. "If you were in Slytherin I'd be very, um, proud to have cunning and, err, ambitious, relatives. There Hermione. I said it."

Hermione sighed, "Alright Ronald, just don't scare the poor things." Ron laughed, and put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Hermione, my brothers told me that we'd have to fight a troll to get sorted. Our children are lucky."

Hermione sighed again. But she just shook her head and motioned for the two children to leave.

Rose caught sight of another family member and told Albus she'd be off with them, Albus stayed behind, instead he hung around his father and waited for something to happen.

After a few minutes, Harry caught sight of the fact that his son was moping behind him. He excused himself from the people he was talking to and turned around to face his son.

"Albus, is something wrong?" Harry asked, concern leaking from his voice. "I guess." Was Albus' flat answer. "Dad," he said quietly and looked up into his father's eyes. "What if I am put in Slytherin?"

Harry sighed, then he got down on one knee to be on his son's eye level.

"Albus, Severus Potter. You were named after two Hogwarts headmasters. One of them was a Slytherin, and," Harry looked down, memories playing through his mind. Then he looked back up at Albus and finished, "He was the bravest man I ever knew."

Albus seemed a bit comforted, but there was still a lingering fear in his eyes. "But dad, just say that I am..."

"Then Slytherin house will have gained a wonderful student. One I am sure will make us all proud." Harry reached up and put his arms around Albus, then he whispered into his ear, "You know that the Sorting Hat takes your choice into account. You can ask it to put you in Gryffindor."

Albus nodded and Harry stood up again. It looked like he had something else to say, but just as he opened his mouth the train's whistle blew.

"Go on!" a dozen or so parents called, and their children quickly jumped aboard the Hogwarts Express and waved goodbye to their parents.

"He'll be fine Harry," Ginny said coming up behind him. "You were, and he has a lot less to worry about." Harry looked over at his wife and gave her a hug as well. "I know," he whispered into her hair.

Then he turned back to the train, which slowly started to leave the station, and waved. He caught sight of James, Rose, and Albus in one of the windows and waved in their general direction.

Everything was going to be just fine.


	2. Chapter 2: Train ride

_I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters. I'm just writing what I hope is an interesting story. Have fun!_

When Albus was small he always believed he'd be in Gryffindor, even if he never felt brave enough.

Then when he was about nine he wondered if he'd be better in Ravenclaw, he seemed smart enough. But he was Harry Potter's son. If he was anything except Gryffindor he'd probably be an outcast.

When he was ten he figured that Hufflepuff would be a good place for him. But then the fact about his father was still prevalent.

But now, he was questioning whether he was going to be in Gryffindor. The house of green and silver was beckoning, and he didn't like it.

He knew that James had been joking, that was just who he was, but it was reverberating through his mind, and as he stared out at the countryside whizzing by him he sighed.

Albus pressed his fingers against the glass as he half listened to Rose, James, and a few more of his other cousins talk.

Albus had always been the quiet one, he supposed that this was due to the fact that he had to basically hide from all the subsequent paparazzi that came with being Harry Potter's son. James gloried in it, but Albus wished it didn't exist.

Just once Albus wished he could change reality to have a normal life. But of course, Aunt Hermione had explained that magic didn't work that way and would have drastic consequences if anything like that occurred.

It wasn't that Albus didn't have what he needed and mostly what he wanted. It was just that what he really wanted, beyond anything else, was to blend in. But, of course, he was Harry Potter's son, blending in was the last thing he'd be able to do.

He watched the reflections of his family stand up and leave the compartment. Rose asked him if he wanted to join them, but he politely declined.

After a few minutes of silence, Albus turned and grabbed his school bag that was sitting next to him.

Even though he had already read his Defense against the dark arts book, he opened it back up and started to read.

He was so engrossed in his book that he didn't even register the sound of the compartment door opening and someone slipping in.

The person didn't say a word, and that was how the entire ride went. Even when Albus finished his book and grabbed another one he didn't notice the stranger, mostly because he didn't make a noise and was sitting on the other side of the compartment fast asleep.

Nevertheless, the two of them spent the rest of the trip not noticing the other until the train arrived at the Hogsmeade station. James poked his head in just as they were arriving and called Albus to get ready and quickly noted the sleeping boy that was also there.

The boy was blonde, he had a pointed chin and overall thin features, Albus sort of recognized him, but figured he must have seen him when they went to Diagon Alley earlier that year. The boy woke up quickly and mumbled his thanks to James, before sitting up straight and getting a good look at the two of them.

He gave a quiet gasp and stood up, pushing past James and leaving their sight before they could fully comprehend what was happening.

James left to go to his friends, and Albus was once again left alone, he changed into his Hogwarts robes, devoid of a house, and went to the closest door of the train to wait for it to stop. The blonde boy was there, but he kept his head down and Albus knew not to speak to him. Albus noted that the boy also didn't have a specific house stitched onto his robes and knew that he'd be spending the next seven years going to school with him, but he didn't mind.

The train came to a gradual halt, and the door was opened via magic, and in the back of the platform two figures stood, one was a large man with a large brown beard with streaks of grey in it and was so thick you couldn't see his belly though it, he was also extremely tall. In direct contrast to him a young woman stood on his right, she was thin and brown haired, one of her hands was on her hip and the other held her wand pointed at the train.

They smiled wide smiles, and the man called out "Welcome to 'Ogsmeade!"

The boat ride was spectacular, Hogwarts castle rose high above them and Albus decided it was the perfect way to introduce students to the castle.

He started to feel a bit jealous of Hagrid, he got to see this view every year but then decided that he didn't want Hagrid's job and quickly dismissed the thought.

They arrived at the castle, and Hagrid dropped them off in the hallway just outside of the great hall, where they were met once again, by the woman from the station.

"As of right now," she said, in a loud but welcoming voice, "You are all Hogwarts students. And you must act like such." She smiled an even larger smile than the one she had first greeted them with, she was holding a rather large scroll, and Albus figured that it held all of their names.

He noticed that the blonde boy was at his side once again, and he seemed to notice as well and scoot slightly away.

Before the woman could continue though, a girl from the back piped up, "So we should all act as rambunctious as possible?"

The woman laughed, "Why yes," she said smoothly, and she checked what appeared to be a watch on her right wrist. "My name is Delphini," she added. "And in a few moments I'm going to open these doors, and when I do, I want you to run like crazy to the front of the room. Don't go as far as the stool though. We don't want an accident to happen."

She held up five of her fingers and started putting them down one by one and mouthing 'five, four, three, two…'

She walked to the doors, and opened them, stepping just out of the way as the students started running, and Albus was caught up in the thrill.

This was going to be an interesting seven years.


End file.
